ekip Events

The European Cultural and Creative Industries Innovation Policy Platform (EKIP) consortium is pleased to invite you to its 9th Policy Lab. This initiative will enable stakeholders from the cultural and creative sectors, together with policymakers, to engage in dialogue, knowledge sharing, and develop concrete recommendations to strengthen the role of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in advancing the green transition. 

About this policy lab

The concept of “Fashion Transition: Eco-design for Circularity” is emerging as a strategic framework for rethinking the fashion and textile sectors in response to pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. More than a regulatory adjustment, this transition is a complex process that depends on close collaboration between businesses, policymakers, researchers and actors across the entire ecosystem.  

Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) play a pivotal role in this process, bringing narrative power, symbolic value, and creative vision to the transformation of production and consumption models. At the heart of this transition lies eco-design, which involves factoring in environmental and social considerations from the beginning of product development and throughout its entire lifecycle. Anchored in the European Commission’s EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and reinforced by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), this shift calls for circularity, inclusivity, and transparency across value chains. Instruments such as the Digital Product Passport (DPP) aim to operationalize these principles by promoting traceability, accountability, and consumer engagement. 

This ekip Policy Lab will explore how research and innovation (R&I) policies can support the development and scaling of eco-design practices and DPP implementation in the fashion and textile sectors. Particular attention will be paid to the role of CCIs, SMEs, and local ecosystems in furthering this agenda through collaborative innovation frameworks and inclusive governance models. It will explore key challenges and opportunities for implementation of Ecodesign in Sustainable Products Regulation and Extended Producer responsibility in terms of:  

• Innovation potential and R&I policies support in this transformation 

• Implications for the textile value chain to improve traceability, transparency, and collaboration 

• Developing the skills required for DPP implementation and sustainable manufacturing 

• The role of R& in fostering inclusive, future-oriented training and capacity-building initiatives 

Through this Policy Lab, ekip invites researchers, industry professionals, policy makers, and cultural practitioners to engage in dialogue, share knowledge, and co-develop concrete recommendations to support the fashion transition. By amplifying the role of CCIs and aligning innovation policies with inclusive and participatory frameworks, this initiative contributes to shaping a fashion and textile ecosystem that is not only sustainable in form but also transformative in purpose. 

Target audience

The policy lab is targeted towards: 

• Practitioners and representatives from the fashion, textile, and broader cultural and creative industries involved in R&I projects on circularity, eco-design, or interested in contributing as innovation actors to the sustainable transformation of the sector. 

• Policy makers at local, regional, and EU level engaged in implementing the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the Digital Product Passport (DPP), and other green innovation strategies in alignment with the New European Bauhaus principles. 

• Civil society organisations, networks, and intermediaries active in promoting sustainability, transparency, and social responsibility in the fashion and textile value chain. 

About ekip

ekip is an EU-funded flagship-project that follows the principles of open innovation to establish a policy recommendation engine driven by partners and the active involvement of 40+ CCI-networks. This engine promotes the development and adoption of policy recommendations for CCIs, resulting in support and guidance that enhances the ability of CCI actors to participate in and contribute to complex innovation processes. 

How to take part?

When: October 29, 2025, 10:00 to 16:00 CET 

Where: Politecnico di Milano, Campus Bovisa – Via Candiani 72, 20158 Milan 

Format: In person, no streaming will be provided.  

Save the date! Further details and the registration form will be shared with you soon. Due to limited availability, participation will be confirmed upon registration. 

More info

For any questions on the policy lab, you are welcome to contact us at erminia.ditria@polimi.it and ekip@technopolis-group.com. More about the ekip-project: www.ekipengine.eu.